In the eyes of an assassin
by Bio-Major Agent85
Summary: A researcher caught in the mess that once was Black mesa, has to make it out alive on his own skills.


Half-life:

Half-life:

In the eyes of an assassin

Harold Pilato slammed his pale fist on the stupid candy machine. "Give me my damn snickers."He says with annoyance for the machine. " Having trouble there, Pilato?" Harold's researcher assistant, Don Reeves said chuckling at Harold's problems. " Why don't they fix that darn candy machine?""Harold calm down, you know you shouldn't put your money into that, it has been broken since last year."Says Don. Harold sits down at the small round table in the lounge which don was already sitting there, drinking a cup of dark rich coffee." Everything is bad down here in this hell hole. We are some hundred feet below the earth's crust and working off minimal stuff for a big complex like this. So cheer up, what in till what we show to the world when we are done with our work." Don explains. " I guess you are right, after we are done then we can leave Black Mesa and set up are own facility.Just thing what wonders we can being to the world if we prefect teleportation." Harold says. " I heard that they are testing that supply that they got from that boarder world out today." "Yes, I heard about that too. They said its fail safe, and have gotten the reactor up and running."The overhead lights flicking and strobes beams of light down on the two scientist. The light goes out and the two men are left alone in the dark.

Harold rises from his chair in a one complete stoke, " see, another power failure, damn this place." " Now, now it's probably just the experiment that is going on right now that is eating up all the electricity."A lime colored sphere of plasma energy forms and grows in front of the frighten scientist's eyes.A brown monster appears smoking from the strange sphere of energy. Its three arms moved in a manner much like a man's. Harold spotted some around its neck, a green collar of some sort. The creature looked around and saw Don off behind the chairs of the table. The air crackles and dances with electricity as the strange creature charges the energy in its hands. It bucks its head back and lets the two bolts of electrical energy fly into Don's chest. Harold can't see what really happen; he only heard the moan and the body hit the fall. Harold not even caring about the alien being next to him looks over at Don. Smoke trails raised from the gapping hole in his chest. The ring of flesh around the wound was charred and dark red.Thoughts filled Harold's mind, thoughts of disbelief, and unrealism.Harold wake from the overwhelming thoughts and runs up the stairs and out of the employ lounge. Harold stumbled out into the brightly lit hallway, colliding with the silver wall. Harold picked himself up and made his way down the hall. Screams and shouts come from an office just up ahead. Harold walks slowly by the glass window that looked out into the hallway.The glass scatters outward and a black scientist lands in front of Harold. " Oh, thank god, another human being." Blood trickles down his lower lip as he talked. " What happen, what is this all about?" Asks Harold. " All I now is that during the test a gate way open up letting the aliens from xen enter our world as they please. We never meant this to happen, and now we are all going to die." The young scientist coughs and throws up dark blood almost black and dies on the floor. 

Loud gunshots erupt from the side office; Harold peers in from the broken window. A highly trained security guard fired his Remington M-1100 shotgun into the face of the alien slave. It collapses to the ground with a noisy thud. The security guard gives Harold a look over and walks over to him. " Hello, so do you know anything about this mess?" " No, I am as clueless as you, John. The only thing I know is that these creatures are of an alien species.""Well, doc it looks like we are not going to make it out of here. I only have three more shells plus the four that are already chambered in the shotgun."" we need to get to the surface and get out of here, before it gets worse." Harold says demandingly." It's going to be hard but we can make it up there if we try." Says the security guard.The two leave the office and make their way out into the hallway. A sealed steel door stood in their way, " I hope the security systems weren't damaged then we may not get out of here." The security guard laid his hand on the palm reader. The light above the machine goes from red to green, the door opens up with a grinding sound as it slides off to the side. A creature of human proportions, wearing with a white lab coat covered in blood, and brown slacks. But its head was round like a melon with two little arms coming from the bottom of it. Its arms looked like it tree limbs, twisted and gnarled, its fingers were long thin claws enveloped in red blood.John pushes Harold back and unloads two shots into the zombie's chest. Yellowish green blood hits the sidewalls with a wet smack. Harold bent down and looked over the dead alien. He scanned over the lab coat and spotted the nametag that all the personnel wore. He picked it up in his fingers and read the name. " Pat Stanfered." Harold said. It was no one that he know, but it was a scientist. Harold turned and looked over at the security guard. " Was it some one you know?""No, but it's a scientist. But it is deformed, how can that be?" Harold says. " What the hell is going on here, are they taking slaves or something?" The two walk down towards the elevator at the end of the hallway. John pushes the button and the elevator doors creep open. " Lets go." 

The elevator doors close and its beings its upward ascent.The doors open and the two scared people are greeting by other security guard. " What the hell are you two doing down here, the troops that have been sent to save us should be landing by now. Get up the surface and they will pull you out of this mess." Screams the security guard. " Oh thank god, we are going to live through this mess." Harold says with much relief. Harold and john begin to run down the long stretch of hallway. They stop at a pair of doors blocking their way. Harold could hear something in the other hallway. Harold could hear some type of gunfire, and screams. The doors open up and three grunts battled a small pack of dog like aliens.John helps out the marines, blasting one of the hound dogs in the back. The battled died down and the two remaining grunts turned to them. " It looks like you two are pretty strong, if you survived this long." The grunt said, his voice muffled from the gas mask he wore. " Why the hell are you talking to them, just kill them already." The other grunt yelled out as he aimed his assault rifle up. John lifted his shotgun up and blasted the closest one in the chest; the grunt's padded armor tore apart in big chucks. He fall off over and died, the other grunt open fire, sending bullets streaming down the hall. Harold runs back through the doors as the bullets hit john, he screamed for help, but Harold left him behind. The grunt stopped firing and reloads his weapon. Harold closes the doors behind him and tries to found some place to hide. Harold could hear the man slam his shoulder into the door trying to get at the good doctor. Harold searched for the other barney, but he had disappeared.The grunt being to fire at the door, bullets dented the strong metal, but did nothing more. Harold heard him stop and then reload once again; this was the time Harold was going to strike. He unlocked the door and rushed through it, Harold saw the grunt and the grunt saw him. Harold pushed him over, making the grunt drop the fresh magazine clip he was holding in his hand. Harold spotted the dead body of john and the shotgun that he still held in his hands. As the grunt was trying to get back up and get to his clip Harold grabbed the shotgun. Harold turned around in one quick motion, and pulled back the heavy trigger of the Remington. The blast went high and hit the man in his unmasked face. Blood flew through the air and hit Harold in the face. He felt the sudden warmness of the blood running down his pale face. Harold had never killed anything in his life or even fired a gun.The sudden rush of guilt and scariness entered Harold's body. He felt the urged to throw up; Harold dropped the gun and went over to the corner. The vomit hits the ground with a wet liquid sound, splashing and forming to a small pool. Harold wiped off his mouth and got back up, the feeling of guilty had left him and he felt like he could kill again. 

Harold picked up the shotgun again and walked down the stairs on the other end of the hallway stepping over the dead bodies that were scattered around it. Harold walked out the greenish blue door and went into the next hallway. Rows of glass lined the wall; two offices lay to the sides, filled with desks and bookshelves. A head crap leaped out from a broken windowpane, it landed in front of Harold's brown loafers. Harold aimed down the shotgun, and pulled the trigger feeling the anger flowing through his vines. The top of the small head crap caves in. Harold steps over the dead alien and walks down to the end of the hall. 

Harold steps out into the lobby of the complex that he worked in. it was empty except a lone desk that stood in the back of it. Harold looked up to the arched ceiling, lined with glass. The sound of the glass broken filled the still air. Harold could see the tan heliplane hovering over the ceiling, ropes hit the ground and two grunts slide down. Bullets hit the ground, breaking tiles under Harold's feet. He dives behind the desk; the bullets rattle the wood as they tear through it. Harold rose up and shot the last two shells that were in the shotgun and ducked back down. The shots scatter and hit one of the grunts in the arm, he yells out in pain and runs off into another hallway. The other grunt walks over ready to kill to Harold. The grunt walks over to the open side of the desk and aims his gun down. Harold uses the shotgun as a bat, and hits the grunt in the head. The marine stumbles back form the unsuspected blow and lets off a couple of shots into the air. Harold grabs the M4A1 assault rifle out of the grunt's hands; Harold turns it around and unloads the rest of the clip into the stomach and chest of the grunt. Harold with a new sense of strength looks over the dead body, he searches around the marine's gear belt. He founds another magazine of the rifle, and a couple of 40mm grenades, he pockets the two. The other grunt came out from the hallway, which he was hiding in. Fire spits from the nozzle of Harold's gun, not evening knowing it. The grunt stumbles back from the force of the bullets, each hit to his chest his body rears back. A sinister smile cracks across Harold's winked face, he felt good for a 46 year old. New blood pump through him, and he once again felt young. Harold held the gun loose, not tightening up his grip on it.Harold went down the dark hallway, the one where the grunt was hiding. He walks through the glass doors and walks out in to the bright light of the sun. Harold scans around the area; nothing was on the road that leads to the anomouls materials lab.

Harold walked down the hot black asphalt, dead alien bodies laid scattered across the black top.

A large sealed tunnel laid in Harold's way; he pushed the keys and the doors opened slowly. Harold stepped into the dark tunnel not seeing any sign of danger.Harold's eyes opened wide as he saw the five dead bodies of the grunts lying there. The smell was strong, and smelled mostly like cooper. Harold couldn't believe it five tough marines dead it didn't make sense. What could have done this, what has the power to take down five grunts with out leaving any blood trails?Pictures of the creature run through his head, something large and with a tough exoskeleton. Harold steps with cautious just in case the alien was still lurking around. Harold glances over some of the bodies of the grunts; they all had strange small puncture wounds, about the size of quarter. " These look like bullet holes. No scientist or security guard could do this type of damage.It seems that there was not just one of these things, but many and maybe not things, but humans." More thoughts raced around in his head, bouncing back and forth from truth and fiction. A shot rang out and echoed louder in the tunnel, Harold fall on to his stomach wrapping his hand around his side. He pulled his hand up to his face and saw the bright red blood covering his hand. Harold final realized a sniper had shot him. Harold know that he had to get up, but the searing pain slowed him down. Harold pushed himself off the ground, a bullet connected with the ground as he got to his feet. He made it out of the tunnel and reached one of the many doors that lead into the anomouls materials lab. 

The hallway was dark; no power was running through the lights. John stumbles around, dragging the assault rifle behind him. Harold disoriented looked behind him, and saw two glowing red eyes, moving from side to side. They were not behind him, but up and to the right of him, like some one was walking across one of the water pipes that run parallel with the walls.The eyes watched him, watched his every move. Harold saw one of them disappear as something was placed in front of it. A blast of fire erupted from the barrel of the gun, and in that flash Harold saw his killer. A man rough 6'2, holding a rifle of some kind in his hands. Fully dressed in black no part of his body showing any sign of who he is.Harold screamed, screamed because he could do anything in his power to stop the bullet hitting its target. Harold screamed again, screamed because he was going to die in a hell like black mesa. 


End file.
